This is the duckling we thought was a chick for the first twelve hours or so.

I know you have all heard some variation of this story. Couple marries and has some children. Couple hits their forties and the kids are raised. Then ooops, somebody is pregnant. We had our own grangerlandrfd variation of a late arriving offspring just recently and it turned Sally and I into foster parents again. I think we have just about got things sorted out but now the chickens are hatching.We had chicken eggs and duck eggs in the same nest thanks to our co-habitating hen and duck. We had a new arrival last thursday night. We were busy and thought the chickens had started to hatch. Friday morning when we lifted the hen there was a duck clinging to her. I tried to pass her on to mama duck but she attacked. I don’t know whether she was attacking me or the duckling but I took no chances. Very unmaturnal behavior.

No menu involved. If you are a baby duck or any other baby bird, this is the fare.

We brought him inside and dried him off. Baby birds subsist on the egg yoke for about two days. We knew the egg yoke was about to wear off so Sally fed him some baby bird food. We knew that companionship was about as important to his survival as food, drink, and warmth so we had to get a roommate. I returned to his mama and took one of her babies for the good of the cause. Mama was highly upset so I let her escape with the remaining baby.

Nice to have a shoulder to lean on.

We got a box that we knew neither of them could escape from and put water and food inside with a light for heat. They spent enough time that way to give us some confidence in their safety. Then we left for Bryan. There was a meeting there where an old friend was going to speak. Our return was normal enough. We let the two dogs in the house and Sally went to check on the condition of the babies. Her alarm did nothing to instill self confidence in my prognostications. The new hatchling was laying in his water dish and could not get out. She thought he was dead at first. Why he could get in and not get out is something I will ponder for some time. More importantly his older sibling was nowhere to be found.The time to search for a missing duckling inside your home is not when you have two 60 pound dogs inside. Especially when they are already excited about your return and their expected treats. Yet that is what we were faced with. The duckling made her general location known by peeping from under our couch. What had passed for excited dogs before went into hyperdrive as these two fierce protectors felt compelled to protect Sally and I from whatever mischief this peeping intruder might have in mind.

Just put your back up next to the fire.

Showing our mastery of animals we shouted to the dogs to remain calm. That’s something that always works. Once we had leaned the couch back, the duckling showed it’s respect for our wishes by darting all over the place. The dogs, in all seriousness, were very good and we managed to capture the duck. It was obvious that they could jump 20 feet if they were the size of humans so we decided we needed better quarters for our foster children. We put them in the extra cage we had set aside for the weaning of the parrots. We were afraid that the chill would kill the newborn and I took him out and petted him quite a bit. I stayed up a little later than usual and the two of them were grooming each other when I went to bed. I was pretty confident that he would survive but remembering the accuracy of my prognostications I wanted morning to get here.

Mama and baby just resting

By this time you might have recalled that I summarily evicted Mama and one baby. You may be wondering how they were doing. Well thanks, they were doing splendidly. They could be seen all over the yard and frankly, Mama appeared to be tiring of the whole mess.

Daddy on the left, resting. Mama on the right, resting. Junior in the middle, momentary pause.

This Norman Rockwell type picture is of Mama, Daddy, and Baby. I can tell you though, that Daddy liked to sit and Mama grew more fond of doing that the longer Junior ran around the yard. By the second day, she was just watching him run. I could just see her thinking “can’t wait till he’s grown and out of the house”. I raised a hyperactive son. I can empathize.Meanwhile, inside the house, we were acting on knowledge that we had picked up in a past episode of foster parenting. That knowledge is that some types of birds make good household pets and other just literally stink. Sally had gone to get a heat lamp bulb and when I returned from a project at Camp Sonshine, I installed it. We put the two babies in the cage but were not prepared for what happened next.

The baby who was running with Mama and Daddy noticed his sibling in the cage. He began to set up a racket and the two in the cage joined him. Mama seemed content to just watch so I put him in with them. Everything got quiet. I hate to dwell on this but it really wasn't all that easy. Baby ducks are quicker and more agile than a fat old man.

Anyway, mama duck took up watch under the cage and the three babies played and groomed contentedly. Then today the chickens began to hatch and we knew we needed the cage. Thats what led to the picture above.We evicted the other mama duck and put all the ducklings together. It seems that all the ducklings accept each other. Since they have multiple parents it’s difficult to know their relationship to each other and, as you can see, there is an age gap. The Mama ducks stand watch outside with no evidence that it does not make them just as happy as being inside.

There is nothing cuter than a baby duck. Proof is that the 9 we took to the feed store sold immediately. Nevertheless, I hope the ducks are through hatching for a while and I hope they are synchronized next time. I have stuck some goose eggs with some duck eggs in a place that I hope is appealing to some wannabe mama duck. That should be fun. At least it will be 35 days into the future and the nights should be warm.